.45 Long Colt Loads for the Ruger Old Army Percussion Revolver

I tested six loads using a Taylor’s .45 Long Colt conversion cylinder in my 14-inch Ruger Old Army percussion revolver. I used four black-powder substitute powders, one smokeless powder and one black powder. The load that had the closest approach to generating the power developed by 35 grains of Triple7seven in the percussion cylinder was wildly inaccurate. However, one powder developed enough energy and was sufficiently accurate to warrant further development as a potential hunting load.